CONTAINMENT FAILURE: Hunting Down Failed Experiments | #MidnightInTheMacabre

A government hunter tasked with tracking down escaped experiments begins to realize the monsters he captures may not be the only things he should fear.

EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/mitm-containmentfailure

SOURCES and RESOURCES: “I Hunt Down The Government’s Mistakes” by Devon Hoover: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/39m68p6w

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Midnight In The Macabre (MITM), originally aired: August 27, 2026

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Speaker 1: Welcome weirdos. I'm Darren Marler. You've stepped into the horror

fiction side of weird darkness, and it happens to be

midnight in the Macabre. I didn't look back once, and

the strange as my life has gotten, I still don't

regret it. The next year of my life would be grueling.

I was put through extreme physical and mental training. I

learned about things that I thought only existed in movies.

I'm not sure what would have happened to me had

I failed the training, but I can't imagine they would

have just let me go back to my normal life.

Not once did they mention what I was training for

during that year, not until I graduated. After getting the

seal of approval from the higher ups, I was brought

into a small room with black suits and finally informed

of what I would be doing. My new job would

be hunting down failed experiments and other oddities that the

government had failed to contain. Not all jobs would be

the same. Some would be relatively easy, while others next

to impossible. Most missions would come with the option of

bringing the target back dead or alive, but of course

it would be preferable to always bring them back alive

for further experimentation. My first assignment would be on the

easy Side code name the ice Cream Man. The ice

cream Man, like most failed experiments, was at one point

a human. He still had the appearance of one your

typical ice cream truck driver, but he's essentially a robot

only concerned with doing his job. So what's so special

about the ice cream Man? Then? Well, I'm never told

the why of the creatures I hunt, but I always

put together my own ideas. The ice cream Man's truck

is really the special part. The music that comes from

the horns works as almost a human magnet. It entrances

anyone within hearing distance to approach the truck. Once you

approach the truck, you well, you buy ice cream. I've

heard the ice cream tastes delicious, but of course you'll

never really know for sure, because the ice cream causes

anybody who eats it to basically enter a fugue state,

and for the next twelve hours after consuming the ice cream,

you carry on your day as you normally do, but

you'll remember nothing the next day. I'm sure you can

see why this would be a valuable asset to the government. Unfortunately,

the scientists put in charge of testing the ice cream

man underestimated him a bit. Before they knew it, they'd

woken up twelve hours later wondering where their test subject

had gone. I'm sure I was given this simple assignment

as a sort of test. I was given a pair

of enhanced noise blocking ear plugs and was sent on

my way to the ice cream man's last known location.

It wasn't hard to find. I just had to follow

the mass of vehicles that lined up to get their

sweet treat. I allowed him to serve everybody in the area.

It'd make my job of taking him much easier if

no one remembered it. After everybody had their ice cream,

I lined up myself. He attempted to serve me, but

instead I reached into the truck and injected him with

a tranquilizer. He may only be a shell of a

person now, but he's not immune to good old fashioned medication.

I tied him up and hitched his truck to my vehicle.

I dropped him off with the nearest government facility and

awaited my next target. As I said, this would be

one of the easier assignments, my next wouldn't be quite

so simple. Code name the Rippler. Unlike the ice cream Man,

the Rippler was still mostly human. He hadn't lost his

emotions or become a mindless zombie, and perhaps that was

the problem. Through intense experimentation, the Rippler had gained the

ability to create an intense concentrated earthquake. He had collapsed

the facility he was being stored in. The main concern

with the Rippler was his danger to others around him.

If he used his ability in a heavily populated area,

countless lives could be lost. This was one of the

few cases that I've been advised to not bring the

target back alive. Once again, I feel as though this

assignment was a test, just a different kind of test.

The government wanted to see if I would kill for

them without hesitation, and it's possible if I did, then

there'd be truly no escape for me. That was fine,

though I had no intentions of leaving. The Rippler was

a bit more difficult to find, mostly because he wasn't

trying to attract the attention of everyone around him. But

if the government wants you, they will find you. It

relocated to a small town, changed his name, his face,

everything in an attempt to escape. I almost felt bad

for the guy. I doubt he had volunteered himself to

be a guinea pig for the government, and now all

he wanted was a normal life. Once I found the

town he was staying in, I made sure to keep

my distance. Didn't want him go a nuclear on me.

I confirmed he was indeed my target by collecting some

DNA samples from his trash. Now all that was left

was to take him down. I didn't want to kill him,

but I didn't have a lot of options. The scientists

who had created him were still unsure to the extent

of his powers and his ability to control them. Had

I brought him back alive, there's no telling if the

government even has a facility capable of holding him. I

did what I thought was best. After he returned home

one night, I put a bullet between the Rippler's eyes.

It was not a good feeling, but I continued to

convince myself it was necessary. I dropped his body off

and was thanked for my services. It wouldn't get easier

from here either. A next target code name Google. This

one was truly a monster. I'm not sure what the

government was trying to create with goul but I don't

think they got what they wanted. Goule was enhanced strength

and speed, but with one slight problem. He eats humans.

Who knows. Maybe that's exactly what the government wanted. As

you can imagine, Goule found a way to escape. After

a while, you'd thank these government scientists to get better

at containing their experiments, but that doesn't seem to be

the case. This mission might not have been so bad,

but I was given strict orders that Goul was to

be brought back alive. All my lethal weapons were stripped

and replaced with tranquilizers strong enough to bring down a rhino.

I put in a request to have a partner for

this assignment, but of course I was swiftly denied. Gouhl

had taken up residence in a forest. This might not

have been so bad if not for the fact that

this forest had an extremely popular hiking trail. There had

always been frequent disappearances in the forest, a lot of

them chalked up to suicides, but since Guhl had escaped,

that number had amplified significantly. The government did me a

solid and got the trail shut down for the weekend,

so it would just be me and Ghoule, I wouldn't

have to worry about anyone else getting in the way.

I've always wanted to go on a hiking date, but

this wasn't quite what I had pictured. I set out

in the forest looking for signs of his nest. I

had made sure not to shower all week in preparation.

If he came to me, it makes my job of

dragging him back to my vehicle a lot easier, and

I'm sure he would get hungry Eventually. After about an

hour of following markings and footprints that I assumed had

to belong to Google, I began to come across bones,

human bones, so I was getting closer. I followed the

path for a few more minutes before I began to

hear noises looks like my date had arrived. I'd heard

tree branches shaking as he drew nearer. After only a

few moments, he was standing on a large tree right

in front of me. He looked down on me, studying me.

He really wasn't that big, maybe five foot six with

an average frame, but looks can be deceiving. His skin

was a sickly yellow, and his hair had begun to recede,

as if he was an old man, but he was

clearly much younger. His eyes were pure white, no longer

containing anything else. After a brief stare down, he jumped.

There was a good fifty feet between us, so I

thought I'd have a few seconds to ready myself, but

I was wrong. As if he was a video game character,

he soared from the tree and landed directly on top

of me. I had just enough time to pull out

a tranquilizer and shove it in his side, but it

wasn't enough. Despite the strength of the tranquilizer, he seemed

relatively unaffected. He shrugged it off and proceeded to take

a chunk of flesh out of my shoulder. I lay

helpless as he began to chew my flesh. I knew

it wouldn't be long before he came back. For seconds,

I struggled to pull out another tranquilizer. I managed to

pull another one out right before he began to lunge

in for another bite. I jammed the second tranquilizer directly

into his neck. I felt his teeth began to lock

onto my own neck, but before he bit down, he

passed out. I let out the biggest sigh of relief

of my life and pushed him off of me. I

placed the special restraints I had been given for him on,

making sure the muzzle I was given for him was

extra tight. I wasn't sure how long the tranquilizers would last,

but hopefully long enough for me to deliver this monster.

Despite missing a chunk of my shoulder, I had escaped alive.

This was just one monster that science had created. I

could only imagine what my future would have in store

for me. After delivering Goul, I informed the higher ups

I'd need at least a month off, and knowing what

they had put me through, they obliged. If anything, they

were impressed I had come back in mostly one piece.

After my month long break slash recovery from Goul, I

was given an easier assignment to ease my way back

into things, code name Romeo. Romeo was made to be

a charmer, and that he was. He was a true

Adinus in every sense of the word. Romeo makes the

statue of David look ugly in comparison. From what I

can tell. He was designed to charm women, foreign diplomats probably,

but instead he charms anyone and everyone, which is how

he was able to charm his way out of his

holding cell. Robeo isn't really a danger to anyone, though,

except perhaps himself find himself at the hands of an

angry spouse. But I'm sure he could get himself out

of that one too. I think Romeo that was easy,

but the hard part would be extracting him. He was

always surrounded by a crowd, almost like a cult. If

there was a high class party, Romeo would be there,

and he'd never returned to his room with less than

ten people following him. I would need a good plan

to separate him from his entourage. I decided to attend

one of his parties just so I could get a

better scope on the situation. It was crucial that I

find any openings he might have. What I didn't expect

was for Romeo to approach me good evening, Monsieur. I

do believe we have met before. I am Romeo and you,

I'm sure was that French. I think I almost threw

up in my mouth a bit. I guess I should

have expected this, though he has quite the ego, after all.

It was good to see his charm wasn't working on me,

though not entirely sure why. But I think it may

have something to do with my disgust. It's just how

perfect he is. Oh uh, I'm James. I'm kind of

new here. Nice to meet you, Romeo, I managed to respond. James,

what a fabulous name, But alone at a party unacceptable.

Come with me, my friends and I are about to

return to my estate. I will show you the finer

parts of this city. Is that a sexual reference? Regardless?

This was going much better than expected. I was making

direct contact with my target. If I went to his home,

perhaps I could just wait until everyone else fell asleep

and sneak away with Romeo before anyone knew better. I

don't know, we just met. I wouldn't want to impose

on you like that, I said, trying to play hard

to get now. I insist you must. Samantha, go with

my friend James here and guide him to my home.

I will be there shortly. There is something I must

see first, Romeo replied, while motioning to one of the

women from his group. Samantha did indeed guide me to

Romeo's home. I already knew where he lived, of course,

but I had to play dumb. Romeo's estate was a

true mansion with esthetics that make you think somebody had

designed the home in the game The Sims. I was

escorted inside. The rest of Romeo's entourage would arrive shortly after.

I was offered some scotch that had apparently been aged

over one hundred years. I'm not much of a drinker,

but I accepted it nonetheless. Romeo arrived almost an hour later,

fashionably late to his own party. Once he arrived, he

immediately approached me. James sallow me. There is something I

must show you, he said to me. I didn't hesitate

to follow him. This was my chance to be alone

with him. I couldn and beyond my way before anyone

knew any better. He led me to a room on

the other side of the home. The room was something else,

something I didn't expect. The walls were covered with pictures,

men and women. Each one was of a different person.

I think I've noticed a few of them from this group.

What is this? I said, without even thinking. These are

all people I have conquered, and you are next. Please

remove your clothing. Romeo said this as he turned his

back on me and began to remove his own clothing.

I almost felt compelled to remove my own clothing. His

words held such power, but I was able to hold out. Instead,

I approached him and sunk the trenk into his neck.

I made sure to duct tape his mouth, too, as

I had heard enough of his words for one night.

Romeo was much bigger than me, so it was quite

an effort dragging him out of his window to my vehicle,

but I managed to do it before anyone got suspicious.

I assume as friends simply thought he was taking his

time and conquering me. I dropped off Romeo and made

sure to shower extra well that night. My experience with

Romeo almost made me miss my date with Ghoul almost.

My next assignment would be another fun one code name Kong.

What happens when you splice human DNA with gorilla DNA? Well,

apparently you get Kong. Personally. I would have preferred the

name Caesar, in reference to Planet of the Apes, but

I suppose he's not a gorilla and I don't get

to pick the names anyway. Kong is essentially a small

version of Bigfoot, and before you ask if Bigfoot exists,

I have to say I don't know. I haven't been

tasked with hunting him yet. Kong would be a kill task.

There's no guarantee the tranks would work, and if they did,

for how long. Not to mention, he had killed two

scientists during his escape, so they weren't too worried about

him coming back alive. They just wanted to dissect what

was left of him. I was given special parameters as

to avoid the head if at all possible. They mostly

wanted to examine the brain, and that wouldn't be possible

if I splattered it all on the ground. Another problem

I faced was my experience with long range weapons. It

had been a part of my training, of course, and

I'd gotten through the basics, but that was about it.

I had been told most of my missions would be

up close and personal anyway, so it wasn't that important. Well,

it was starting to seem important now. Similar to Gul,

Kong had taken up residence in a forested area, but

since his diet didn't consist of human meat, he had

chosen a much more included area. I don't think Kong

really wanted to hurt anyone. He could have lived out

his life in these woods, never bothering anyone, but that's

not what the government wanted. My superiors informed me that

they'd already done overhead sweeps of the area and were

able to tell me exactly where the cave he was

staying in was located. Of course, they had done the

easy part and I would get to do all the

dirty work on the ground. I made my way to

a vantage point overlooking the cave and set up the

sniper rifle they'd supplied me with. Now all I had

to do was wait. After a few hours, Kong finally

made his appearance. He walked out of the cave and

began to stretch his limbs the way most of us

do after we wake up. I studied the rifle and

aimed the crosshairs over where I would assume his heart was,

and I pulled the trigger. I missed. I hadn't taken

into account the wind had picked up since I'd started waiting,

and the bullet had strayed to the right of Kong,

hitting the rock of the cave. Kong didn't move, though.

Instead he simply turned his gaze to me with eyes

that were all too human. He didn't try to escape.

He knew I would come eventually, and if it wasn't me,

it'd be someone else. Kong had accepted his fate. I

had killed the rippler, of course, but that was different.

I had done that while he was asleep. I didn't

have to see the look in his eyes before he died.

I almost wished Kong had been a monster like Ghoul.

That way, I wouldn't have to feel too bad about

putting him down. With a slight hesitation, I reloaded my gun,

I took aim, accounting for the wind this time, and

I fired once again bullseye. Kong went down instantly. I

made my way over to confirm he was dead, and

luckily he was. He wouldn't have to suffer anymore. Kong

weighed far too much for me to drag back on

my own. Instead, I set off a flare I'd been

given for this moment, and waited for the airteam to

come collecting. Sitting next to Kong's lifeless body really made

me begin to question my line of work. I'd never

felt so disgusted in myself, but I knew there was

no way out for me. I'm already in far too deep.

Perhaps the government has created another monster in me, and

someday they'll have to put me down too, But for

now I'm still doing their dirty work. Code name Dahlia

Dahlia is well a doll, a ventriloquist doll, to be exact.

Despite her simple looks, she is quite dangerous, probably not

in the way that most of you would expect. Though

she can't move on her own. Well, she can speak,

but that's it. So she won't be running around your

home in the middle of the night stabbing people now. Instead,

Dahlia has an incredibly strong power of influence. One look

into her eyes and she'll have complete control of you.

It's a bit ironic, really, a ventriloquist doll making humans

her puppets. In my briefing, I was told Dahlia is

essentially the definition of sadistic. She enjoys making her victims

inflict as much pain as possible before eventually disposing of them.

I'm not sure if demons are real, but if they are,

I'm sure that's what is trapped in that doll. Dahlia

was believed to be staying with a family of four.

She'd been taken there by a scientist who had fallen

under her control. She'd only been gone about a week,

but there's no telling what she could have gotten up

to in that time. Scientists who had taken her had

returned to her workplace a day later and attempted to

murder her coworkers, but was quickly taken care of. I

made my way to the family's home, hoping to be

surprised by what I saw. Let's just say I got

my wish, but not in the way I had hoped.

I knocked on the front door. After a few minutes

of no response, I turned the handle to find the

door was unlocked. I wish I hadn't. The moment I

stepped into the home, I was hit with a putrid smell,

one that I know means death. The walls were coated

in blood. Some of it was dried, some was fresh

and still slowly dripping down. I found the family together

in the living room. The mother and the two children

were sat in a small triangle. They were already dead

and rotting. Their stomachs had been cut open, with their

entrails hanging out. They'd been posed in a way to

make it look as if they were eating their own organs.

In the center of that triangle was the father, hanging

from the ceiling. He had scratches and cuts all across him,

but that was nothing compared to what had happened to

his family. Just before I was about to spill my

lunch all over the floor, I heard a voice from

the opposite corner of the room. You're just in time.

What do you think of my art? It's a little sloppy,

but I'm sure it will get better in time, the

voice said Dahlia. I questioned, Ah, have you come to

get me already? I was having such a fun time too. Well,

I'm done here anyway. I guess you can take me

back for now. I'll be out again soon. I made

my way over to the voice, making sure to keep

my head down. I had no intention of ending up

like that family. When I got close, I closed my eyes.

I managed to pick her up and flip her over

and made my way b back out to the vehicle.

Let me sit up front. I like to have conversations

during my car rides. Plus, you can't get much action

from women in this line of work, so it will

be fun for both of us, Dahlia said mockingly. As

much as I wanted to chuck her in the back

and throw a blanket or something over her, I also

didn't want her to be out of my line of sight,

so I granted her wish. I carefully sat her up front,

turning her head towards the window. I've been lying, if,

I said. Part of me wasn't curious about her. I

wanted to know more about what makes a monster a monster.

You should just take me home with you. Tell your

boss I wasn't here. I'm sure we would have lots

of fun together. Dahlia said, yes, I'm sure you'd make

great kindling for a fire. I responded, you're funny. I

like you. I was thinking i'd have someone kill you eventually,

but maybe I'll keep you. Oh you don't just kill everyone,

I asked, of course not. I like to let the

really bad ones live. It's more fun that way. Dahlia said,

what do you mean by that? Are you saying I'm

a bad person? But it made me a bit angry.

I'd almost turned to look at Dahlia, but I thought

better of it. Was she just trying to provoke me.

You aren't quite on my level yet, but I see

potential in you. You didn't even scream when you saw

my work. Maybe you even enjoyed seeing it. You may

think we are different, but we really aren't. Dahlia retorted,

she was partly right. I hadn't reacted. When I saw

the bodies, i'd felt sick. But if I had seen

that a few months ago, I would probably have passed out.

Whether I like it or not, I am definitely changing,

and I don't think it's for the good. What are

you I finally asked, after a few minutes of silence.

Look into my eyes, and I'll tell you try. I

may be stupid, but I'm not that stupid, I responded,

almost bursting out into laughter. What are you afraid of?

Do you think you would see yourself if you looked

in my eyes? That's enough? One more word, and I'm

googling where the nearest woodshipper is. Those were the last

words I spoke on our little road trip together. I

dropped off Dahlia and informed them about the mess at

the house. They said they'd send somebody to clean it up.

I was hoping they'd give me a break after what

I'd seen, but I would not be so lucky. As

soon as I turned in Dahlia, they told me they

already had a new assignment ready for me. That would

be code name Jack Brandio's name. I know. This was

probably the oddest assignment I had received yet. Jack was

what I could tell, entirely human. I had no clue

why I had been tasked with finding a human. Perhaps

he was a runaway scientists or someone who knew too much,

but he certainly wasn't what I'd gotten used to hunting.

I was told Jack was incredibly dangerous, though, and that

I should not take any risks in trying to capture

him alive. In other words, they wanted him dead. This

only made me more curious as to what secrets that

Jack must have held. Jack was constantly on the move,

so it wasn't easy to find him, but my training

had paid off and I was eventually able to track

him down. I watched him for a while. He didn't

seem dangerous to me. Suspicious and cautious, yes, but not dangerous.

The one night he stepped out of his hotel room

to get food, so I decided to let myself in.

Jack and I needed to have a talk. Jack didn't

seem too surprised when he returned to his room to

find me sitting on the couch. He simply held out

his arms, so I did send someone for me after all, Well,

go ahead and do what you have to do. I

won't fight it. He said, sit down, Jack, I just

want to talk. Jack raised an eyebrow at this curious one. Huh,

you know what they say about curiosity, right, I rolled

my eyes and once again motioned for Jack to sit down.

Who are you, Jack? And why did they send me

after you? You don't know I'm you, or at least

I used to be. They tell us where to go,

who to kill, who to bring back alive, and we

do it, no questions asked. I couldn't handle it anymore, though,

So here I am and here you are, Jack explained.

This took me back for a second. I had known

he had to have some connection to my agency, but

I had never considered he had been in the same

position as me. So there really was no way out

other than death, that is. I walked across the room,

pulled out my gun, and I killed Jack. I had

the answers I came here for. Perhaps Dahlia was right,

we aren't so different after all. I returned with Jack's body.

I wasn't asked to give my usual debriefing. Instead, I

was just given a simple nod and told to go

home and wait for my next assignment. I wonder if

this was another test, if it had been. I'm sure

I passed with flying colors. I understand if you all

think less of me for the choices I've made, But

if it wasn't me, it would be some one else.

This was the life I had chosen, or perhaps the

life that was chosen for me. Regardless, I can't back down. Now.

I'm simply one discardable person in the whole scheme of things.

Don't mistake my actions for blind loyalty. Though I know

the peaceeople I work for aren't good people, I simply

know my police in this world. In a minute, I

stop being useful, I will end up like Jack. How's

the saying go? Better the devil you know than the

devil you don't. I am a cog and a giant machine,

and once my cog stops working, I'll be discarded and

replaced by another. Despite the fact that I risk death

every day that I wake up, I have never felt

more alive. I no longer have nightmares of those I've killed.

I've stopped caring about things like that. If I become

too soft, then I'll end up like Jack, and I

have no intentions of letting that happen. After I disposed

of Jack, I was given a week off. It had

been a while since I'd had any time to myself.

It was a bit strange. I never had many friends

to begin with, and my work had distanced me from

my few family members I had kept in touch with.

This week off made me realize just how empty my

life had become. Was this what they'd wanted? Regardless? I

was at work the minute my week was up, ready

for my next assignment, and I got one code name Mimic.

As her name implies, Mimic is a master of disguise.

She has the ability to morph her face into a

perfect replica of anyone she chooses, but she's not able

to change her body. I imagine she's still a work

in progress. Can you imagine what the government could do

if they could create perfect body doubles of anyone they wanted.

Mimic had escaped along with a few other experiments, but

she was the top priority. It was believed that they'd

all split up, but I was still warned to be

on the look out in case any of them teamed up.

Due to her ability, Mimic would be incredibly difficult to locate.

Because of this, several hunters like me were given her

as an assignment. If our information was correct, then she'd

not made it out of the city we live in yet.

But if she had, we may never find her. The

only way we'd be able to identify her is by

a distinct scar on her left shoulder. The government had

set up roadblocks at all the city's exits. While US

hunters searched within. Three other hunters and myself were each

given a quadrant to search. Mimick had no family, so

she would either have to break into somewhere or find

an abandoned location to stay. I spent several hours walking

the streets by my quadrant, asking strangers if they'd seen

a suspicious looking woman, as well as checking out old,

decrepit homes that hadn't been lived in in years. I

found nothing, though, That was until I was approached by

a slender, young looking man, probably early twenties. Are you

looking for someone, the man asked, Yeah, it's it's hard

to explain. I'm looking for a girl, but I'm not

entirely sure what she looks like. I replied, aren't we

all man chuckled before continuing, But I may be able

to help you. I saw a girl run into an

old building around the corner. She was acting pretty weird,

constantly looking over her shoulder, and maybe she's who you're

looking for. Thank you. I have to go check right now,

I said, as I pushed past the man, Not giving

his words a second thought, I quickly made my way

to the building let myself in. To my amazement, Mimic

was actually there, but it wasn't quite what I had expected.

Mimic was tied to a chair. I knew it was

her because her scar was in clear view. No other

hunters had contacted me to tell me they'd moved into

my area or that they'd found Mimic. So why was

she tied up? That's what I remembered. Who told me

that I would find her here? The stranger. Before I

could even turn around, I heard his voice. It's a gift.

She is quite important to them, isn't she. It was

the strange young man I just met, But he wasn't

behind me. Now he was in front of me, near Mimic.

How had he gotten in front of me? I had

almost sprinted over here. Who are you? I asked? That's

not important right now? Aren't you going to thank me? Oh? Wait,

that's not important either. The real reason I'm here is

to deliver a message to you, the man said, A

message from who. I was truly perplexed, as I said earlier,

I make contact with almost no one. Bell looks so confused. Friend,

it's from your girlfriend. Have you already forgotten her? Dahlia

would be so upset to hear that. The man mockingly replied.

I immediately cut him off. Dahlia is not my girlfriend. Dahlia

is a demonic do I wanted nothing to do with

unless it involves a large fire. It was almost shouting,

The man laughed before responding. She said, you'd say something

like that regardless. She wants you to know that she's

coming to pick up soon and that she really misses you. Now,

if you'll excuse me, the man turned and began to

walk away. Where do you think you're going? I said,

as I pulled out my track gun and aimed it

at him. He didn't respond, nor did he stop walking,

so I fired. My aim was dead on, well it

would have been, but the dart passed right through the man,

as if he wasn't even there. He continued walking straight

up to a wall and proceeded to walk through it.

What the hell just happened. A man appears out of nowhere,

leads me to Mimick, and then he tells me that

Dahlia is coming for me. To top it off, There's

obviously something going on with the man too, seeing as

he knew Dahlia, but also the fact that objects passed

directly through his body. Was he under her control? I

didn't know what was going on at all, but I

still had a job to do and my target was

right in front of me. I let the other hunters

know that I had found the target and that I

was taking her back. That's what I did. I brought

Mimic back to my bosses. I was almost expecting some

sort of praise, but I knew that would be unlikely.

Despite her value, I would be surprised once again when

I made it back to the holding facility, though the

whole place was in complete lockdown, well whatever was able

to be locked down. Half of the building had been

blown off. The facility was located outside of town in

a secluded area for obvious reasons, so I knew no

innocent people had died, but I did see the corpses

of many scientists and guards strown around the area. I

knew some of them had families, but these people weren't

exactly angels. I managed to find one of my superiors

who was able to breed filled me in on the situation.

While our forces had been thinned looking for a mimic,

a group had attacked the facility. It's obvious they were

looking for a particular experiment, but it's unsure exactly who

they were after. At this point, around twenty of the

fifty experiments held in the facility had escaped. I tried

asking which of the experiments escaped, but I was told

that was confidential. They simply told me to leave Mimic

with them and to go home and wait for them

to sort this out. I would be busy soon. Part

of me already knows at least one of the experiments

who escaped. Was she the target. I think it's a

big possibility. I was already told she's coming for me.

I'm not sure what's about to happen, but it can't

be good. It had been a few days since the

attack on the facility. I was temporarily sent home while

the government sorted out the mess. With half of the

building blown off, it wouldn't do much good to start

hunting down the experiments before we had a place to

store them. We'd find them eventually anyway. I was able

to sleep for about four hours before my phone rang.

It was time to hunt down the escapees. Myself and

the three other hunters that had helped me look for

Mimic were all called in. We were given a short

list of the experiments that had escaped. To my dismay,

Dahlia was in fact on the list. She couldn't move

on her own, so it was clear she was with

another one of the experiments, which won. Though I had

no clue. I tried flipping through the pages to see

if the man I'd seen with Mimick was on the list,

but he wasn't. We were able to find about half

of the twenty escapees within the first day. Some of

the experiments just stand out a bit too much, and

with no one to help them on the outside, they're

just sitting ducks. There were still eleven at large, though

Dahlia of course among them. I kept hoping every time

we found a new lead that they'd be the one

carrying Dahlia, but unfortunately that was not the case. After

doing a quick sweep at the nearby city with no results.

We were all sent home to rest. The government would

go through cameras and contact us if they found anything.

They were also calling in reinforcements after the attack, trying

to find out who orchestrated it. There was absolutely no

way I was going home with a killer doll stalking me, though.

Instead I made sure that I wasn't being followed. I

parked my car on a random street and I found

a small motel. It was a crappy, run down place,

but that oddly made me feel safer. I slept with

my lethal gun in hand and my TRNK gun nearby.

I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep much, but

it would only be worse for me if Dahlia did

come and I was too exhausted to fight back. The

night went by with no incidents, as though I was

called early in the morning once again. Turns out two

experiments had been spotted together. They had stolen a car

and were en route to leave the city. The people

back at the facility would slow them down as much

as possible with stoplights. They wanted me and another one

of the hunters to meet up and follow them. They

could possibly lead us to more of the escaped I

was able to quickly meet up with one of the

hunters from before. He was probably mid thirties, so he'd

probably been doing this much longer than I had. Luckily,

we were able to catch sight of the stolen vehicle

just before it left town. Despite knowing that they'd been

slowed down, it seemed too easy. The car began taking

back roads and eventually pulled into an old cabin. Despite

us being the only car behind it most of the time,

it didn't seem to show any unusual behavior as to

suggest it knew we were following it. The other hunter

pulled over a short distance from the cabin, and he

began to ready himself. I pulled out my phone. This

was obviously a trap. I thought that maybe I could

call back up, but the other hunter stopped me. Listen, kid,

I've been at this a long time. I know this

is probably a trap, But do you really think they're

going to send anyone to help us. We're on our own,

and you can either help me or sit out here

and wait. I'm going in. Well, then after you, I suppose,

I replied coldly. I knew he was probably right, though

the government didn't care much about us. They probably have

just scolded me and asked me what I was waiting for,

so I began to gear up as well. Death might

be favorable compared to what Dahlia wanted to do with me.

The other hunter and I exited the vehicle and made

our way as sneakily as possible in the daylight. Once

we made it to the door, the hunter give a

count down of three before throwing some sort of grenade

through the front window. It exploded into a gas, quickly

filling the home. I couldn't help but wonder why I'd

never gotten access to these grenades before. After the gas

had mostly dispersed, we covered our noses with our shirts

and went inside. We instantly found one of the experiments

unconscious on the floor. If I remember correctly, her code

name was Trauma. By touching someone, she could force them

to see their worst nightmares. I guess, since waterboarding is

too inhumane, she must be the solution. The other hunter

began to make his way over to her, and he

began restraining her while I watched his back. He was

almost done when everything went black. When I came to

I saw the other hunter was tied to a chair

in front of me. He was still unconscious. I then

looked down to see I was in the same situation.

I was firmly tied down to a chair. Ah, you're

finally awake, A male voice to my side said. I

turned to look. It was the man from before, the

one that had walked through the wall. He was also

sat in a chair, but he wasn't tied up. I

doubt any sort of bindings could hold him anyway. On

his lap sat a doll. The doll in a hood

pulled up just enough to cover its eyes. The man

began to speak again. It's actually a bit funny. Last

time we met, I gave you someone tied up in

a chair, and now you yourself are tied up. What

do you want? I replied, not in the mood for

any games, not that I had much choice. I told

you Dahlia here was coming to pick you up, but

instead you came to see her yourself. How sweet of you,

the man said, Did you really miss me that much?

Dahlia finally spoke up. Can you just kill me already

or do whatever you're going to do with me? I responded,

I told you I let the bad ones, and you

have been quite bad. Recently killing that poor man Jack.

It was a bit fast, but I'm sure you still

enjoyed it, Dahlia said, mocking me. I just did what

I was told. He knew what he signed up for, Yes,

he did. The rest of us are not so fortunate.

All of our lives were turned into games by the government.

The only difference between us is that you had a choice.

The rest of the experiments and myself never had the

luxury of knowing what we were getting into. Dahlia said, so, what,

you want to overthrow the government? Expose them or something?

I questioned. Dahlia began to laugh. Heavens, no, they are

far too powerful for that, and there are too few

of us to even think about challenging them. I simply

don't care enough about something like that. No, I simply

wanted you. What do you want from me? I may

have done terrible things, but I'm still nothing like you,

I replied, Maybe not yet, but you will be soon enough.

After she said that, two new people entered the room

that were both wearing lab coats. One held a syringe,

and once he reached me, he plunged it into my arm,

releasing the fluids. Once again. The world went black. I

awoke again to find myself looking at two bodies. One

was the other hunter, the other was mine. Both had

a bullet hole in the head. How was as possible

am I dead? Then? How am I still seeing this?

I quickly looked down at myself, fearing the worst. I

was not trapped in a doll. I still appeared to

be human. I touched my face and the rest of

my body. I still felt solid, and I was still

capable of picking things up. But why was my body

seemingly dead on the floor. Incredible, isn't it? It looks

exactly like you, even down to the fingerprints. One of

the experiments abilities. The other one isn't a replica, though

he's quite dead and done with your gun. By the way,

this came from the voice of the ghost like man

from before. What did you do to me? I asked.

I knew they had to have done something to me.

The man simply shrugged nothing. It seems as if your

body rejected the serum they had planned for you rejected. Well,

at least that was one thing to be happy about.

Although I was still stuck in a room with one

of my captors, as well as a dead body and

the replica of my own dead body. What now, then,

I asked, even though I wasn't sure i'd get a

direct answer. Well, since the serum didn't work, Dahlia has

one last plan for you. As he said this, the

door once more opened. Dahlia was brought back into the

room by Trauma, this time with no hood. I was

no longer tied up, but I knew there was still

no way for me to escape yet, so I stood

still as Trauma approached me with Dahlia in hand. Once

Trauma stood directly in front of me, I crouched down

and looked directly into Dahlia's eyes. I wouldn't fight fate.

What I saw in those eyes was pure evil. I

saw countless wars, murders, deaths, suicides. It seemed to be

endless tragedy. I didn't lose control of myself, though. Instead,

I quickly reached for the lighter that I had been

hiding in my shoe ever since I knew Dahlia had escaped.

I flicked it almost instantly and held it to Dahlia's dress.

She went up in a blaze. There was no stopping

the fire. Trauma and the Strange Man desperately tried to

stop it, but it was as if Dahlia had been

soaked in gasoline. I took a second to smile before

sprinting out the door. I saw several people on my

way out of the house, but none of them seemed

concerned with me. They all were trying to get to

the room with Dahlia. I knew the whole cabin would

be a light soon, so I just needed to get out.

Once I made it outside, I quickly ran to where

the Hunter's car had been parked. It was surprisingly still there.

They hadn't moved it yet, but he still had the key,

so I smashed the window and hot wired the car

as quickly as possible, and I sped off. By the

time I drove by, the fire in the cabin was massive.

I almost hoped that all those inside would die, but

they had all been under Dahlia's control. It's possible there

were some good people among them. I let the thought

die instead as I continued to move forward. I've been

hiding out ever since that day. I know writing this

only puts me in more danger, but this story needed

to be put out there. It's almost guaranteed the government

will read this and perhaps they'll send some one after me,

but I don't care any more. I won't be a

puppet to any one, not the government, and not a

psychotic doll. I'm officially done hunting down the government's mistakes.

Thanks for joining me. Find more horror fiction at weird

Darkness dot com. Slash Midnight, I'm Darren Martler, and I

hope you'll join me again soon at Midnight in the Macabre,